The Nokia 3310 has returned - and scores of tech fans are pining for the days of longer battery life and simplicity.

Now, experts are trying to improve battery life as Professor John B. Goodenough - the inventor of the lithium-ion battery - leads a University of Texas research team into building the first all-solid-state battery cells that could power the phones of the future.

As well as upping our Snapchat quota on the iPhone, the technology could be used in electric vehicles, Mirror Online reports.

“Cost, safety, energy density, rates of charge and discharge and cycle life are critical for battery-driven cars to be more widely adopted," Professor Goodenough said.

"We believe our discovery solves many of the problems that are inherent in today’s batteries.”

The research team has demonstrated that the battery cells are at least three times as dense as current lithium-ion batteries.

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Regular lithium-ion batteries use liquid electrolytes to transport the charged ions between the anode (the negative side of the battery) and the cathode (the positive side of the battery).

"If a battery cell is charged too quickly, it can cause dendrites or “metal whiskers” to form and cross through the liquid electrolytes, causing a short circuit that can lead to explosions and fires," explained the University of Texas .

"Instead of liquid electrolytes, the researchers rely on glass electrolytes that enable the use of an alkali-metal anode without the formation of dendrites."

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As well as improving the density, these new battery cells are also able to withstand sub-zero temperatures.

Goodenough and his team are busy looking to partner up with phone makers that can put their research into actual products and, hopefully, save you the annoyance of having to ask if anyone's got a spare charger you can borrow.